Iraq anti-Daesh operation leaves civilians trapped

Residents fleeing Fallujah suffer from Daesh and from random shelling by Iraqi warplanes

By Haydar Hadi

BAGHDAD (AA) – Civilians who have fled Fallujah in recent days said they were exposed to random shelling by the Iraqi air forces as they left the city.

Following a harsh journey, most have settled in a tent camp 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Fallujah.

Survivors told Anadolu Agency about their suffering under the Daesh terrorist group.

Firas Taleb said some 100 families who were stuck in the town had to secretly escape from the Daesh offensive and the Iraqi warplanes’ random shelling.

“Many civilians were killed and hospitals in the region have been damaged,” he said. “My mother couldn’t come along as she was old. We left her under the shelling and it keeps our mind busy all the time.”

“There was no food in Fallujah. No one is allowed to exit the region due to the anti-Daesh operations,” he added.

Hani Ubaid, also from Fallujah, said Daesh had seized the land of those trying to flee.

Meanwhile, another Fallujah resident, Hamid Esawi, said life was miserable in the city.

“The situation in Fallujah is so bad,” Esawi said. “People are deprived of basic living needs and are dying from hunger or lack of medicine.”

The Iraqi operation to retake Fallujah was launched on May 23.

Located along the Euphrates River about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Baghdad, Fallujah – which fell to Daesh in early 2014 – is home to 90,000 people.

*Anadolu Agency correspondent Ahmet Sait Akcay contributed to this story from Ankara.